News - Sports

Saturday, Sep. 06, 2008

Stallions romp

South Pointe rides defense to win

WINNSBORO -- The South Pointe Stallions took over where they left off last week in a 56-0, season-opening win over J.L. Mann.

In that game, South Pointe returned two punts for touchdowns and added TDs on an interception, a kickoff return and a fumble recovery. The score was 21-0 before the Stallions ran their first play of the opening quarter.

Friday, South Pointe scored 22 first-quarter points in its 43-12 win over the Fairfield Central Griffins, but this time, managed to run 14 plays. As was the case last week, South Pointe's big-play defense played a major roll in the Stallions' 29-0 halftime lead.

"What our guys have to learn is how to play four quarters," Stallions coach Bobby Carroll said. "We picked one up and ran it in. We picked one off and ran it in."

The first mistake the Griffins made was deferring to the second half after winning the coin toss and giving the Stallions the ball. South Pointe responded with a 73-yard drive that ended with tailback Devin Wherry's first touchdown of the game, a 1-yard plunge over right tackle.

It was also the first of only three Stallions possessions in the opening half. The second came at the end of the first quarter, this one a 5-yard Wherry run. The third melted the first-half clock down to 0:00 and the Stallions were at the Griffins' 35 when the horn sounded.

The other South Pointe TDs? The way they happened might be becoming a habit.

Brandon Hinton picked off a pass by Fairfield Central quarterback Justin Trapp midway through the opening quarter and ran it back 82 yards for the Stallions' second TD.

South Pointe struck once more in the second quarter, this one coming on a Griffins fumble.

Fairfield Central moved inside the Stallions' 25 for the second time in the half and was at the 10. A 12-yard loss pushed the ball back to the 22, where Danny Miller lined up at quarterback and flipped a swing pass on the right side to Trapp.

He made the catch and ran down the sideline to the 17, where he was drilled. The ball popped loose and Pat Burris scooped it up raced 83 yards for a 29-0 Stallions lead that held up until halftime.

Fairfield Central coach Reggie Kennedy made some adjustments at the half, the biggest moving Miller to quarterback full time.

The diminutive sophomore led the Griffins on a pair of fourth-quarter TD drives. The first ended with Shane Boulware's 5-yard run. Miller scored the second, running that ball in from 4 yards out.

The score had quickly been cut to 29-12 and the Griffins still had a fighting chance.

"Our defense is making big plays, but we can't build a big lead like we did the last two weeks and come out in the second half with our heads hanging," Carroll said. "If we do, we play some teams that will come back and beat us."

Regardless, he had to be happy the way his team responded.

South Pointe answered the Griffins' second touchdown on its next possession, and again on a big play. Stallions quarterback Stephon Gilmore ran into a crowd that appeared to stop. But he came out of the scrum and bolted 55 yards own the right sideline for a TD.

The Stallions put on a drive for their final touchdown, a 2-yard blast over right tackle by Quentin Darby, who Carroll said was declared eligible to play on Friday morning. Darby played at Rock Hill two years ago but moved to Atlanta last year before returning this summer.

There was a bit of good news for the Stallions' offense. Gilmore passed for 135 yards and receiver Charles Holmes, who has committed to South Carolina, had eight catches for 79 yards.

"We got our passing game more involved tonight, and we're going to need that to happen more," Holmes said. "It was good to get this one, but now we have to get ready for Clover next week."